Traditional Medicine in The Balkans II

Obviously, the Greek people acknowledged after a long time that the condition of one part of the body influenced the condition of the entire body. The Balkan traditional medicine proved that the soul is the source out of which everything, good as well as evil, would reflect upon the body and which would generally define the personality. The Balkan traditional medicine proved that we had to treat the problems of our head in the first place. Consequently, the rest of our body would be healthy. In the way he set up the medical science, even Hyppocrates, 460-377 before our era, father of modern medicine, was directly influenced by Zamolxis’ treatment principles.

Fundamentally, the Balkan traditional medicine employed water, herbs, music and the dialogue with the patient. The sick man was taken out in the sun, in the middle of the forest, when they applied him various procedures, it is a known and acknowledged fact. As he was treated, he could also listen to the song of the birds and to the music of the nature.

The Slave peoples, the Bulgarians, the Serbians, the Macedonians and the Thracians believed that it was demons that caused the disorders and the affections. They also thought at the beginning that the evil spirits’ kiss brought the herpes or that evil spirits make children cry or make them trip and break a bone. They also believed that fairies or moires helped people get cured and helped them find the healing herbs. Later they believed that Tangra, their supreme god, taught them how to treat their kin and what herbs they should use. Much later, the medicine of these peoples came to a balance and the category of physicians was born who treated the population by means of herbal extracts, water or other things. The sick men were treated at their home or on the battle field by the traditional medicine physicians. The first known hospital dates back to the year of 369 our era. Later, the sick men were treated in an organized manner and within the precincts of every monastery.

In the course of time, the Balkan traditional medicine has had a very important role in the world. The herbal treatment is very rich in minerals, vitamins and many other things. The traditional medicine knows approximately 750 thousands medicinal herbs on Earth, out of which about 300 thousand ones are from the Balkans. In the traditional medicine, each part of the plant, such as the leaf, the flower, the stem, the fruit or the root – is used for something, either by itself or in combinations. Modern medicine has studied the effect of each herb scientifically. That is why we often find combinations between the herb or a part of it and biochemistry. Traditional medicine rejects this combination because – while by herbal extract or plain pure herbs the result is guaranteed – by combinations it is nothing but experiments.

It has been proven so far that, through its experience and history, the Balkan medicine has treated and it still treats over 5.000 affections. According to each particular issue area, the Balkan traditional medicine has its specific and its benefits. The traditional medicine specialist learns and trains himself in traditional medicine, which means that he knows the traditional medicine in all its complexity. Although very complex, the traditional medicine brings and will always bring the solution to each human health problem.